Soil Fertility, Nutrient Uptake and Yield of Bell Pepper as Influenced by Conjoint Application of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers

A two-year experiment (2014 and 2015) was conducted to investigate the conjoint effect of organic manures, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), and inorganic fertilizers on soil fertility, nutrient uptake, plant biomass, and fruit yield of bell pepper. The experiment was conducted duringkharifseason on sandy loam soils of mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh. Treatment T6 [application of 75% N + remaining 25% N through vermicompost (VC) + poultry manure (PM) + full quantity farm yard manure (FYM), P and K + PGPR] resulted greatest available N (396.29 kg ha(-1)), K (484.65 kg ha(-1)), Zn (0.63 mg kg(-1)), Fe (4.14 mg kg(-1)), and Mn (3.19 mg kg(-1)) in soil along with more uptake of N (133.34 kg ha(-1)), P (32.57 kg ha(-1)), and Cu (76.32 g ha(-1)) by the plants. Further, the treatment T(4)produced similar effect and obtained greatest values for characters like yield (420.37 kg ha(-1)), organic C in soil (2.09%), available P (42.07 kg ha(-1)), and Cu (0.73 mg kg(-1)) in soil as well as uptake of K (73.31 kg ha(-1)), Zn (123.39 g ha(-1)), Fe (321.36 g ha(-1)), and Mn (103.52 g ha(-1)) by the plants. Results of this study suggested that integrated use of organic manures, i.e. FYM, VC, and PM up to 25-50% with inorganic fertilizers is beneficial for improving soil health, nutrient uptake as well as for sustainable bell pepper production.